› Browse Recipes › Charapita Chicken Wings with Amazonian Cocona Vinaigrette for Piqueos

by Victor Heredia

recipe medium Peruvian

Charapita Chicken Wings with Amazonian Cocona Vinaigrette for Piqueos

Crispy fried chicken wings served with an emulsified Amazonian vinaigrette made from cocona fruit, ají charapita pepper, and lime juice. Accompanied by fried or boiled yuca, this dish brings the wild flavors of the Peruvian Amazon to the snack bar menu.

20m Prep

25m Cook

45m Total

1 Servings

amazonian chicken wings charapita cocona sacha-tomate streetfood piqueos deep-fried yuca vinaigrette jungle business-recipe

Ingredients

chalaquita

25 g red onion (finely diced (brunoise))
25 g sacha tomate (wild tomato) (seeds removed, finely diced)
fresh cilantro (culantro) (finely chopped) optional

cooking

frying oil

garnish

yuca (cassava), pre-cooked (pre-cooked, then fried until golden)
2 strips lime zest (for decoration) optional

main

8 units chicken wings (fried skin-on (can also dust with seasoned flour))

vinaigrette

30 g lime juice (squeezed from the side — do not cut in half to avoid bitterness from seeds)
30 g olive oil (or sacha inchi oil)
3 g ají charapita (whole)
30 g cocona (Amazonian fruit) (peeled and chopped)
3 g salt
white pepper

Steps

1

Prepare the yuca: shape pre-cooked yuca portions and set aside. Heat frying oil and fry yuca until golden. Drain and reserve.

Tip: You can also serve the yuca just boiled if you prefer to skip frying.

~10 min
2

Squeeze lime juice from the side (not cut in half) to avoid bitterness from broken seeds. You need 30g of lime juice. Reserve 2 pieces of lime zest for decoration.

Tip: Cutting lime in half breaks seeds and adds unwanted bitterness to the juice.

~3 min
3

In a blender add: 30g lime juice, 30g olive oil (or sacha inchi oil), 3g ají charapita, 30g peeled and chopped cocona, 3g salt, and 1/8 tsp white pepper. Blend until emulsified but slightly chunky — you want pieces of cocona to remain.

Tip: When working with lime, salt absorption is reduced — you may need to double the usual salt quantity. Also: blending the cocona rather than just dicing it ensures its flavor is present in every bite.

~2 min
4

Fry the chicken wings skin-on in hot oil until golden and cooked through. Drain well. (Optional: dust wings with seasoned flour before frying.)

~12 min
5

While wings fry, prepare the chalaquita: finely dice 25g red onion (brunoise), remove seeds from sacha tomate and dice finely (25g), and finely chop a pinch of fresh cilantro. Combine in a bowl.

~5 min
6

Pour the cocona-charapita vinaigrette over the chalaquita mixture and stir to combine.

~1 min
7

Plate the fried yuca alongside 8 chicken wings. Partially spoon the Amazonian chalaquita vinaigrette over the wings — do not cover completely, so the crispy skin remains visible. Garnish with lime zest twists and fresh ají charapita.

Tip: Don't cover the wings completely — you want to show the clean, crispy fry.

~3 min

Nutrition (per serving)

420

Calories

32g

Protein

18g

Carbs

24g

Fat

Fiber

Cultural Context

This dish celebrates Peru's Amazonian culinary heritage, showcasing three distinctive jungle ingredients: ají charapita (tiny yellow peppers with intense fruity heat), cocona (a wild Amazonian fruit with a citric, tomato-like flavor), and sacha tomate (wild tomato). The sauce is inspired by the classic Peruvian chalaquita salsa but elevated with jungle ingredients blended into an emulsion. Chef Victor advocates for using sacha inchi oil as an even more authentically Amazonian alternative to olive oil.